Antes del embarque, una empleada nos pidió que pasáramos por la aduana con calma.

Because de + el contracts to del in Spanish.

• antes de el embarque → incorrect
• antes del embarque → correct

This contraction happens almost every time with de + el. A very common parallel is:

• al = a + el
• del = de + el

So Antes del embarque means Before boarding.

Embarque means boarding, especially in a travel context such as planes, ships, or sometimes trains.

In this sentence, antes del embarque means before boarding or before the boarding process.

A learner should be careful not to confuse embarque with the English word embarrassed. They are false friends.

• embarque = boarding / shipment
• embarazada = pregnant
• avergonzado/a = embarrassed

Yes. Una empleada is a female employee/member of staff.

• empleado = male employee, or employee in general in some contexts
• empleada = female employee

Since the sentence uses una empleada, it tells you the staff member was a woman.

Nos means us.

In nos pidió, it tells you who received the request:

• me pidió = asked me
• te pidió = asked you
• nos pidió = asked us
• les pidió = asked them / asked you all

So una empleada nos pidió... means a staff member asked us...

Pidió is the preterite of pedir, and it presents the action as a completed event in the past:

• pidió = asked
• pedía = was asking / used to ask

In this sentence, the employee asked them once, at a specific moment before boarding, so pidió fits better.

Compare:

• Una empleada nos pidió que pasáramos... = A staff member asked us to go through...
• Una empleada nos pedía que pasáramos... = A staff member was asking / used to ask us to go through...

The second version would suggest background information, repetition, or an ongoing scene.

Because after pedir que when you ask someone to do something, Spanish normally uses:

pedir + que + subjunctive

So:

• nos pidió que pasáramos... = she asked us to go through...
• literally: she asked that we go through...

Spanish does not usually say nos pidió pasar in this meaning. With a change of subject, que + subjunctive is the normal structure.

Here the subjects are different:

• the employee = the one asking
• we = the ones who should go through customs

That is why Spanish uses que pasáramos.

Pasáramos is the imperfect subjunctive of pasar.

It appears here because the main verb is in the past (pidió) and the sentence expresses a request.

A very useful pattern is:

• present main verb → present subjunctive
  Nos pide que pasemos
• past main verb → imperfect subjunctive
  Nos pidió que pasáramos

So pasáramos does not mean we passed. It means something like that we go through / that we should go through, viewed from a past context.

Yes. Pasáramos and pasásemos are both correct imperfect subjunctive forms.

• que pasáramos
• que pasásemos

In modern Spanish, both are standard. In many contexts, -ra forms like pasáramos are more common in everyday use, but -se forms are also perfectly valid.

So this sentence could also be:

Antes del embarque, una empleada nos pidió que pasásemos por la aduana con calma.

Same meaning.

Literally, pasar por la aduana means to pass through customs.

Naturally in English, you might say:

• go through customs
• clear customs
• pass through customs

Here:

• pasar = to pass / go
• por = through / by way of
• la aduana = customs

So que pasáramos por la aduana means that we go through customs.

Because the idea is not simply go to customs, but go through customs.

• ir a la aduana = to go to the customs area
• pasar por la aduana = to go through customs / pass through customs control

So por emphasizes movement through a process or checkpoint, not just movement toward a place.

Con calma means calmly, without rushing, or take it easy depending on context.

In this sentence, it suggests the employee asked them to proceed in an orderly, unhurried way:

• con calma = calmly / slowly / without stress

It does not necessarily mean they were emotionally upset. It can simply mean please don’t rush.

It most naturally describes how they should go through customs.

So the meaning is:

• the employee asked us
• to go through customs
• calmly / without rushing

In other words, con calma modifies pasáramos por la aduana, not really pidió.

A natural interpretation is: She asked us to go through customs calmly.

Because Antes del embarque is an introductory time phrase placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Spanish often uses a comma after this kind of opening element, especially when it is a bit longer or when the writer wants a clear pause:

• Antes del embarque, una empleada nos pidió...

You may sometimes see short introductory phrases without a comma in informal writing, but here the comma is very normal and clear.

Yes, in many contexts you could say Antes de embarcar.

Compare:

• Antes del embarque = before boarding / before the boarding process
• Antes de embarcar = before boarding / before getting on

Both are natural, but they focus slightly differently:

• el embarque is the event/process of boarding
• embarcar is the action of boarding

So both work, but the original sentence sounds a bit more like travel or airport-style formal narration.

Not exactly.

• la aduana = customs
• el control de seguridad = security check / security control

Customs is about goods, declarations, and entering/leaving a country with items. Security is the checkpoint where bags and passengers are screened for safety.

So a learner should not translate aduana as security. In this sentence, it specifically means customs.

Yes, it is very natural.

The structure is:

• Antes del embarque = time phrase
• una empleada = subject
• nos pidió = verb + indirect object
• que pasáramos por la aduana con calma = subordinate clause

Spanish word order is often flexible, but this sentence is very standard and natural. It sounds like clear narrative Spanish, especially in a travel context.